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Folordump
This is a dumping ground for all the ideas for Folor's Fortress. Folor -> Foe Lore -> Doctrina Hostem What Lies Beneath Folor's Fortress/Palace/Military Installation exists inside a mountain, which rests upon a massive magical Machine. This Machine's working go all the way to the core of the planet and spiderweb outwards into the Underdark and beneath the continents. Unlike the Underdark, most of the machine's innards are uninhabitable, due to magically maintained moving parts, extreme temperatures and patrolling maintenance robots/droids/golems. The power sources for the Machine are geothermal in nature and distributed throughout its construction, preventing any single loss from either disabling the machine or destroying the planet. At the rough center of the machine is a massive extinct volcano, whose structure descends to the mantle of the planet. This is the mountain fortress. The Fortress Deep Warrens Forming the bottom-most levels of the fortress, the warrens contain power, water, gas, magicka and other utility lines and maintenance tunnels to service them. There are a few unintentional breakthroughs to the Machine's workings at this level. In the center of these warrens is Folor's workshop, where his newest inventions are under development. Locations: Folor's Workshop; Main Fortress Power Core; Emergency Armory Main Entrance The first levels above ground host a grand entrance locked by a magical, near sentient lock. Behind these doors lie puzzles and challenges to test entrants to the fortress. After passing these tests, there is a large, long staircase that spirals up to the fortress proper. The Tests 1. Test of Strength Two pillars stand next to a doorway. Two large stone spheres stand next to them. They have the anti-magic property, which is readily obvious to casters. this is Star Wars, they are very dense stone and are not anti-magic. Lifting the spheres and keeping them from falling will lower the pillars and open the door. In time, the pillars will rise, rolling the stones off back into their places and the door will lock again. 2. Test of Agility A vast chasm parts the way to the next door. There are thin pillars, hanging ropes and narrow beams set to provide a convoluted path. Failure will lead to a fall to the death. The 'chasm' is an illusion and those who fall will end up trapped in a room, unable to communicate with their compatriots. They cannot leave this trap room until the Test Room is empty. 3. Test of Fortitude A frigid room of stone and frost (but no ice) in an anti-magic field guards the next door. A pillar of ice stands in the middle, a switch frozen under a dome of clear ice will open the opposite door. Technology will not work and the presence of fire will kick up a wind that can freeze the warmest of hearts. Body heat will melt the ice and allow escape, but mistakes may prove fatal. exposure here is Fatal. There are preserved bodies in the room where the dead have been left. 4. Test of Intelligence 3 14 15 9 (Pi, radius of a circle) 1 41 42 1 (Sqrt of 2, Diagonal of a square with sides of one unit in length 1 61 80 3 (Golden Ratio, A+B is to A as B is to A.) 5. Test of Wisdom A room that admits no more than six people at a time. There are six sets of hand holds and foot holds climbing the walls (like an artificial rock wall.) The floor begins to iris open, revealing lava that the characters cannot feel heat from or smell. They must climb for their lives until it consumes them. Except it is an illusion, there is no lava, and while they can try to climb forever, eventually they will drop, exhausted into the lava (which will provide the appropriate illusion of death to the others). Or they can simply take the two minutes (180 seconds) it will take for the floor to iris to cross to the open, unlocked other door. 6. Test of Character With only six remaining, they enter a room with a sword seemingly made of obsidian. There are short pedastals that lower when stood on by sentient creatures. The words in many languages on the blade say something to the effect of "Five will stand. Even friendships of iron may be severed. To pass, break that which is weakest." The sword is magic and can be identified as cursed, but the nature of the curse will not be revealed except with True Seeing. This reveals that the sword will kill anyone it wounds by draining their life. Evil characters (and players) may assume that they must execute one of their members to pass. The curse on the blade will also kill the wielder, however. The answer is for five people to stand on the pedestal switches and one to break the sword. Barracks The Fortress proper itself is a warren of barracks, armories, sickbays, mess halls, workshops and small sally ports and defense emplacements for defending the mountainside. Main Hangar Connected to the Barracks and below the palace lies Folor's multi-level; multi-tiered Hangar facility. It houses massive automata, flying machines, vehicles and stables (which may or not be empty). Powered elevators bring craft up from maintenance bays and deep storage below. In a Star Wars setting, there is a yellow and white jalopy X-Wing fighter parked in the corner. In a fantasy setting, there is a Dragon War Forged mount, quietly awaiting its master. In a modern setting, among modern aircraft, a WW2 era project aircraft will lie in pieces, awaiting reassembly. The Hangar is lit in such a way that craft hanging from the ceiling and sitting on the top tiers lie in shadow when viewed from the bottom floor. Deep Storage In the Deep Storage Hangars, hundreds of air/sea/spacecraft and war machines thousands of years old will lie in storage waiting to be used once again. The Throne Room Above the Hangar, connected to the Barracks main corridors is the Throne Room. It is a straight path from the Testing grounds through the Barracks to the Throne Room. At one end is the entrance doors, which are large like a cathedral's. Opposite the doors is a large dais with a ebony black throne. Fantasy it is wood; modern it is metal; scifi it is stone. Lining the room are columns and between the columns are pedestals for statues. In scifi these are holograms. These images represent Folor's comrades as they were in life when he knew them. They are memorials. But they are also more. Whichever member of this collection of heroes and villains is present, the image will fade, revealing a throne of their own to sit in council. If Folor is not present, their throne will move on its own to occupy a spot in front of the main throne. Inside their pedestals are artifacts and equipment that belong to the person in the image. Some are truly ancient relics, some are replacement gear ready for use. These can only be opened by their owner or completely destroying the stone, which will summon automated guards, including an Assessor. The Throne dais will telescope up, increasing in height as a recognized authority approaches. Two circles set in the floor have functionality beyond decoration. The first is a disc that descends to the hangar. The other is a control table that extends up from the floor and has a large hologram projected in its center, detailing the current state of the Fortress. Assessor One of the automated guards that responds to crimes and assaults on the premises, an Assessor is intelligent and has the job of assessing the level of threat to the facility, summoning the correct level and type of response. Dramatis Personae: There are three factions attempting to seize control of the fortress. 1. The Imposter A figure purported to be Folor has already opened and entered the fortress. It is functioning and obeying his commands. His entourage consists of sycophants that have funded his expedition, mercenaries hired with their money and many, many servants which may or may not be slaves. He is not evil, but certainly not good. In actuality, the Imposter cannot control the whole of the fortress and has bypassed Eva's ability to summon forces capable of fighting him or anyone else. With internal, but not external security disabled Eva obeys his commands. In the Imposter's Retinue *Fat Sycophant - A hedonist who seeks "adventure" from the comfort of is palanquin on the backs of slaves. *Aging Courtesan - past her physical prime, but sharp as ever, she sees the Imposter as a future king, with her as his queen *Youthful Manipulative Contessa - beautiful and deadly, she wants the whole kit and kaboodle for herself. 2. The Heir Ines Reglia, the adopted daughter of Folor, had given her life to monastic military order. With the re-emergence of the Fortress, she quests to keep it from falling in the wrong hands. She doubts the right hands are her own. In the Heir's Retinue *Duncan - aged warrior of the previous war, he serves Ines as Master-at-Arms of her court and is her chief adviser (and maybe father) *Warriors of the Order - three warriors of her order which have served with her before, this is the first time the four have not been equals *Sistes of the Order - ten non-combatant attendants of her order, sent to serve her as a noble retinue. They are insistent in their duty, even when she isn't 3. The Warlord The BBEG has dispatched the warlord with a war retinue to seize the fortress, massacre its occupants and turn its power on their enemies. The Warlord may stay the executions of those who help him secure the fortress, particularly if they assist him in supplanting his master. In the Warlord's Retinue *Officer - an Admiral or General as needed. He is a genius at strategy, tactics and logistics, but is frequently undercut by the Warlord. *Captain of the Guard - A loyal servant of the Warlord, his armor is the "cool action figure" version of the army's warrior. Very powerful, should be able to take any hero one on one. *Lyn, a battlemage capable of burning cities, second only to the warlord in individual power. She serves as his adviser and court-mage. Her ambitions are unclear but powerful. 4. Eva The sentient control system of the Fortress. She is omnipresent and omniscient within the fortress, but relies on limited sensors for outside. She controls the automata of the Fortress for security and she can perform limited maintenance with them. She has free will, but tries to follow the Three Laws of Robotics as best she can. While the Imposter has disabled her ability to resist him via automata, she follows his commands, while decieving him into thinking she MUST follow his commands. She is biding her time. In Service of Eva *Toil - a work and maintenance automaton mostly used to palace maintenance, Toil can be sent to recruit a team of heroes to free her from the Imposter. He has only rudimentary social skills and is easily intimidated. Toil can clean, mend and repair almost anything given time, tools and material. If he successfully hires the heroes, he will serve them as faithfully as he does Eva until returned to the Fortress. He is naively trusting, and will follow the heroes assuming that they will keep their word. (One might have him in the employ of another group of adventurers already, who are clearly lying to him.) *Assessor Gamma - The hardiest Assessor unit, best at its job and a very dangerous foe. Once unleashed by Eva, he cannot be stopped without a command from her or Folor himself. Given its own choice, it will kill the Imposter and Warlord and imprison the Heir until her identity can be confirmed. *Private Rogers - A frontline battle automaton, not particularly distinct from the vast army of soldiers available to Eva, private rogers is missing its left forearm. If "armed" with the left gauntlet of Folor's red armor, Rogers will unlock his abilities and become an Assessor free of restraint. *Severe - a larger war automaton, Severe is capable of being worn by a humanoid less than 6'5" and taller than 5'5". As a suit of armor, Severe will attempt to work with his wearer unless they are completely inept. While inside Severe, the wearer is immune from attack until Severe is destroyed. Severe's power source is limited and must return to the Fortress within about two days or he will shut down and die, unable to be restarted. *Grandmother - a poorly maintained housekeeper automaton, Grandmother is Eva's physical presence in the palace. She is weak, short ranged and very limited. Implemented to give the near omnipotent Eva a different perspective of power. While under the Imposter's control, Grandmother is Eva's way of communication without giving her true intentions away.